famous Carniolan polymath Johann Weikhard Valvasor (1641–1693). The last one held an estate here until 1870 and the others retained their ties with the area even later on. They owned the old medieval Schlangenburg Castle, which suddenly started to crumble precisely at the beginning of this period (1773), and abandoned it, the Dobrna (Neuhaus) mansion, which was constructed as a substitute for the old castle, the thermal spa, which was brought to new glory after a long period of lethargy, and later also the nearby Dobrnica (Gutenegg) mansion, whose previous owners, Barons Adelstein, shared a double kin relationship with Valvasor’s descendants. In the said four locations at Dobrna and its surroundings, the destinies of Barons Dienersperg were entwined with the destinies of the female lines of their family – Counts Hoyos, Knights Resingen and Knights Gadolla – some so closely that a skilled writer might weave them into a family novel.